Gordon Goodman Memorial Lecture
2019-09-05
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm University and Stockholm Environment Institute present the Gordon Goodman Memorial Lecture 2019 on 3 October with Sverker Sörlin, a Swedish historian of ideas and a professor in environmental history at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

New scientific model can predict moral and political development
2019-08-26
How come today’s conservatives are more liberal than yesterday’s liberals? Why has the public opinion in large parts of the world shifted so rapidly in favour of gay and lesbian rights, but been virtually unchanged on other contested issues such as abortion rights? A study from a Swedish team of researchers recently published in the social science journal Nature Human Behaviour answers several critical questions on how public opinion changes on moral issues. They have created a scientific model that can predict public opinion changes on moral issues.

Switching on the Atlantic heat pump
2019-08-22
34 million years ago the warm ‘greenhouse climate’ of the dinosaur age ended and the colder ‘icehouse climate’ of today commenced. Antarctica glaciated first and geological data imply that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, the global ocean conveyor belt of heat and nutrients that today helps keep Europe warm, also started at this time. Why exactly, has remained a mystery.

Contribution to research on Alzheimer’s disease
2019-08-20
Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly. The disease currently lacks both prevention measures and cure. In a research project that has been awarded a grant from Bright Focus Foundation (BFF) the researchers will find out if there is a link between the disease and a specific liver-generated profile in the blood.

Where do microplastics go in the world’s oceans?
2019-07-05
Two PhD students at Stockholm University have participated in a scientific cruise from Canada to Singapore to understand how microplastics behave in the water and in marine food webs.

SU ninth in the world within Geography
2019-07-02
Geography at Stockholm University is ranked nine in the world. Environmental Sciences & Engineering and Atmospheric Science at Stockholm University are also among the top 25 in the world.

University collaboration receives EU grant
2019-07-02
The university alliance CIVIS, consisting of Stockholm University and seven other European universities, is one of seventeen pilot projects selected for funding from the European Commission.

Large research grant to develop green chemistry
2019-06-24
Financier Mistra and industry partners are investing SEK 100 million in the research program SAFECHEM, which aims to create a sustainable chemicals industry and reduce exposure to hazardous substances.

En route to Greenland to drill the ice
2019-06-05
Professor Margareta Hansson is currently in Greenland to oversee the research work in an ice core project where drilling is being performed in a rapidly flowing ice stream.

Polar expedition to shed light on Greenlandic glacier
2019-07-25
In august, a research expedition on icebreaker Oden departs for Ryder glacier. The expedition will investigate the connection between climate change and glaciers, but also how Greenland was colonised.

New microscope finally in place
2019-05-20
After almost five years and major renovations in the Arrhenius Laboratory, the University’s new electron microscope is finally in place.

Leiden Ranking 2019
2019-05-17
In the middle of May CWTS Leiden University presented the Leiden Ranking 2019. The ranking measures the scientific performance of more than 950 major universities worldwide.

The extreme of rarity
2019-04-30
OKC researchers helped reveal the rarest nuclear reaction now known to mankind. To observe this ultra-rare process, XENON1T watched a tonne of ultra-pure liquid xenon for a year. The experiment was featured on the cover of the scientific journal 'Nature'

Baltic Sea research in focus at Skansen
2019-04-23
The Skansen Baltic Sea Knowledge Centre, the Baltic Sea Science Centre, has been inaugurated by Crown Princess Victoria. Researchers at Stockholm University have a central role in this effort to raise awareness of challenges in the Baltic.

Three researchers receive EU-funding from MSCA
2019-04-12
Three researchers at Stockholm University have been awarded funding within Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowships (MSCA-IF), which is the EU’s Research Mobility Program. The projects are in the fields of environmental science, astronomy and medieval history.

Seven new Honorary Doctorates at Stockholm University 2019
2019-04-11
Stockholm University has chosen this year’s honorary doctors, all of whom have contributed in distinctive ways to the University’s activities in research and education. The new honorary doctors are Johan Eriksson, Eva Dahlman, Kajsa Öberg Lindsten, Axel van den Berg, Elizabeth Churchill, Nora Underwood and Frances Westley.

Wallenberg Scholar grant awarded for analyzing biomolecule structures
2019-03-28
Xiaodong Zou, professor in Structural Chemistry at Stockholm University, is one of 22 Wallenberg Scholar grant receivers 2019. The researchers, among the most prominent in Sweden, are each awarded a 18 million SEK five year grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Oceans are major sources of highly fluorinated chemicals into the air
2019-03-26
Sea spray may be a major source of highly fluorinated chemicals to the atmosphere contradicting the view that oceans act only as sinks for these persistent pollutants, shows a new study by researchers from the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES) at Stockholm University published in the journal Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.

Royal visit at Arctic lecture
2019-03-13
Derek Muir, holder of the King Carl XVI Gustaf Visiting Professorship in Environmental Science at Stockholm University, gave his introductory lecture on March 13th.

Researchers receive EU funding within MSCA
2019-02-11
Researchers at Stockholm University are awarded funding within Marie Skłodowska Curie (MSCA), which is the EU Research Mobility Program. The project is in the field of environmental science.

How to get articles from Elsevier
2019-02-07
Information for researchers and students at Stockholm University on how to get articles from Elsevier after the cancelled agreement.

Rain-repelling fluorochemicals in outdoor clothing are unnecessary
2019-01-31
Waterproof clothing using highly fluorinated chemicals are over-engineered for consumers, building in unnecessary repellency to oil and other stains, when only repellency to water is required. The researchers say effective alternatives, that are better for the environment, are readily available.

"I'm so curious" says researcher Angela Adamo
2019-04-25
Meet Angela Adamo, a researcher at the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University, who shares her story about her journey from Italy to living in Stockholm and working at Stockholm University.

New findings on respiratory supercomplexes
2019-01-02
A team from Stockholm University has determined the architecture of an assembly of respiratory chain complexes, revealing in near-atomic detail how energy conversion occurs and is organized.

Insects of Sweden and Madagascar to be surveyed
2018-12-20
A research project was launched this autumn that will survey the insects of Sweden and Madagascar. The project is made possible thanks to a large number of volunteers who are helping to empty the insect traps.

Royal Environmental Professor for Stockholm University
2018-12-20
For 2019/20, the board of the King Carl XVI Gustaf 50th Anniversary Fund for Science, Technology and the Environment has appointed Paul Anastas as the 24th holder of the King Carl XVI Gustaf Professorship in Environmental Science.

Feedback on the implementation of Plan S
2018-12-29
Provide your feedback on the guide on how to implement Plan S, the EU initiative that aims towards 100% open access for all scientific publications that result from public funding.

Research on marine protected areas receives contribution
2018-12-11
The Swedish Research Council has granted research project grants for development research for 2018. At Stockholm University, support is given for a research project concerning marine protected areas in Tanzania and Mexico.

Three scientists are granted funds for sustainability and resilience
2018-12-11
The Swedish Research Council has decided on the applications to be awarded in the field of “Sustainability and resilience – tackling consequences of climate and environmental changes 2018”. Three researchers at Stockholm University can share more than 16 million SEK.

Eight researchers at Stockholm University among the most cited
2018-12-05
In the end of November, the annual list “Highly Cited Researcher-2018” was published. World class researchers are selected for their exceptional research performance and significant influence. This year, eight researchers from Stockholm University are on the list.

Funding to develop sustainable aviation fuel
2018-11-23
The project ”Aviation fuel from lignin” at the Department of Organic Chemistry, Stockholm University, has received 4,7 million SEK from Energimyndigheten, Swedish Energy Agency.

Why is it good to sleep in on weekends?
2018-11-19
We asked Professor Torbjörn Åkerstedt of the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University on his recent study related to sleep duration and mortality.

New inflammation inhibitor discovered
2018-11-19
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from four universities has developed an anti-inflammatory drug molecule with a new mechanism of action.

EU funding to HERA-project
2018-10-05
The project ”Integrating Environment and Health Research: a Vision for the EU” (HERA), where Stockholm University is one of the partners, has been granted EU funding.

Five major research grants to Stockholm University
2018-10-05
The projects span research into the creation of mitochondrial ribosomes – which can give new tools against certain types of cancer – to studying and learning more about the fundamental physical nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Broad genetic variation on the Pontic-Caspian Steppe
2018-10-04
The genetic variation within the Scythian nomad group is so broad that it must be explained with the group assimilating people it came in contact with. This is shown in a new study on Bronze and Iron Age genetics of the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, situated in the Black Sea region.

Inauguration and Conferment 2018
2019-02-07
Stockholm University has held its annual inauguration and conferment ceremony in the City Hall. New professors were installed and new doctors were conferred. In addition, seven jubilee doctors and nine honorary doctorates were conferred.

Three researchers receive EU funding within MSCA
2018-09-26
Three researchers at Stockholm University are awarded funding within Marie Skłodowska Curie (MSCA), which is the EU Research Mobility Program. The projects are in the fields of biochemistry and biophysics, molecular life sciences and astronomy.

The best way to measure air pollution
2018-09-11
How much nitrogen oxide or asphalt particles are there in the air at a certain location in Trelleborg, Sundsvall or Stockholm? This is something that is recorded by different measurement stations located in urban environments around Sweden.

Get published in full Open Access free of charge
2018-09-03
All publications in pure open access journals is now free for researchers at Stockholm University and funded centrally through the library as part of efforts to support the transition to 100 percent Open Access.

Viking Age research on the Swedish island of Birka
2018-08-16
The Black Earth Harbour is a Viking Age harbour on the Swedish island of Birka. We visited the island and interviewed researchers from Stockholm University's Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies on their work and findings.

What causes the poor health of perch in the Baltic Sea?
2018-08-02
Why does the amount of perch decrease in the Baltic Sea? Could it be because of compounds naturally produced by algae and cyanobacteria? Could it also explain the poor health of several other species in the Baltic Sea?

Another clue in the search for the missing ice age carbon
2018-08-02
For the very first time, researchers have estimated the amount of organic carbon stored within the permafrost of the Last Glacial Maximum. The trio of scientists from Stockholm University show that the permanently frozen ground around 21,000 years ago held less carbon than the same area today, a result which is in direct opposition to what has previously been assumed.

Neutrinos in the ice indicate source of cosmic rays
2018-07-12
An international research team have identified a likely source for the high energy cosmic rays reaching Earth. The discovery was made with the aid of the IceCube Neutrino Telescope at the South Pole.

Healthy food for a sustainable planet
2018-07-02
The plate of the future has more vegetables and nuts than today, as well as less meat. At least if we are to believe Line Gordon. She wants us all to eat more healthily and sustainably, but without lectures and unilateral solutions.

Full speed ahead for the Institute of Latin American Studies
2018-07-02
Interest in the multifaceted and dynamic Latin American continent is increasing in both Europe and the USA, but most of all in China. “We have the wind in our sails,” says Andres Rivarola, associate professor and director of the Institute of Latin American Studies.

Children of immigrants have smaller families than their parents
2018-07-02
The children of immigrants typically have smaller families than their parents’ generation, even when their parents’ generation had larger families than the UK norm. This is the result of a new study from Stockholm University published in International Migration Review.

New Centre for Palaeogenetics
2018-06-25
A new agreement brings the research in palaeogenetics of Stockholm University and of the Swedish Museum of Natural History together in the new Centre for Palaeogenetics.

Diet is the main source of halogenated flame retardants
2018-06-15
Dietary intake is the main route of exposure to halogenated flame retardants. That is one result from a research project that Joo Hui Tay at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), presents in a recently defended doctoral thesis.

Plastic degrading in the oceans release chemicals into the water
2018-06-12
Plastic debris accumulates in the environment and can cause physical harm to marine species. The degradation releases chemical compounds to the water and the compounds are dependent on the plastic polymer and the weathering condition of the plastic, shows a new doctoral thesis.

EU funding for tool to help job seekers
2018-06-08
The Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) at Stockholm University has been granted EU funding to develop a system, SkillsMatch, that will help job seekers. The goal is to develop an EU-wide system where users get help adapting to the conditions of the labor market, focusing on non-cognitive abilities.

Video: Expedition Arctic Ocean 2018
2018-06-01
The preparations for the expedition to the Arctic are in full progress. Watch and listen to the researchers packing and testing their equipment, and hear what they hope to achieve.

Mission: To manage the cocktail effect
2018-05-25
What happens when we are exposed to many chemicals in a complex mix? As the Swedish government’s special investigator, Christina Rudén, Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), will propose strategies for taking into account the cocktail effect in the chemicals legislation.

Sweden cancels agreement with Elsevier
2018-05-18
The Swedish research institutes has cancelled the agreement with large publisher Elsevier due to inability to find an agreement on a sustainable price model at the transition to open science.

Atmospheric research at the top
2018-05-18
A team of atmospheric scientists from the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES) is currently taking part in air measurements at the highest atmospheric research station in the world.

A new puzzle piece to control the aging and age-related diseases
2018-05-16
A basic discovery of how the cellular functions are connected to control aging is presented in the journal Cell Metabolism. The study shows that an increasingly deteriorating communication between the cells' organelles is an important cause of aging.

Honorary Doctorates 2018
2018-04-24
Stockholm University has chosen this year’s honorary doctors, all of whom have contributed in distinctive ways to the University’s activities in research and education.

New publishing tools available
2018-04-17
To make writing and publishing of scientific texts in different formats easier, Stockholm University has licensed two publishing tools: APA Style Central and Overleaf.

New study on powering the green plant
2018-04-09
Researchers from Stockholm University and SciLifeLab have successfully determined the structure of chlororibosomes providing novel insights into plant protein synthesis and a new perspective on the evolution of translation. The study is published in Nature Plants.

Research on Latin America at Stockholm University
2018-04-09
Stockholm University conducts several research projects with a focus on Latin America. Here is a short film which presents our research on Latin America, including the Institute of Latin American Studies.

Exposure to highly fluorinated chemicals peaks in early life
2018-03-28
Children are exposed to a wide range of highly fluorinated chemicals through multiple pathways including breastfeeding, air inhalation and dust ingestion. The exposure peaks in the first year of life, shows a new doctoral thesis.

Publish Open Access - without APCs
2018-03-06
Researchers at Stockholm University can now get published in Open Access journals without paying article processing charges (APC), owing to new agreements with four international Open Access publishers.

New book from Stockholm University unlatched in global Open access project
2018-02-21
Stockholm University has since the start 2014 supported the initiative Knowledge Unlatched, which unlocks research published at traditional publishing houses, and releases it as open access. In March, The triple bind of single-parents families, co-authored by Rense Nieuwenhuis, will be published. But it is already available as a free download.

A different kind of fire
2018-02-16
Forest fires during drought periods rather than deforestation fires increasingly dominate Amazonian carbon emissions.

Carl Cederström – the researcher who tried to optimise himself
2018-02-15
How can we become better people – better-looking, smarter, healthier, and more productive? Over the course of a year, researcher Carl Cederström explored various self-improvement strategies – using himself as the subject. This short film documents what Carl put himself through during that year – in order to optimise his life.

A biological switch regulates the amounts of DNA building blocks
2018-02-02
The enzyme that produces DNA building blocks continues to amaze. The latest surprise is that the enzyme’s on/off switch is positioned at a completely novel site in some marine bacteria. Evolution has once again used an existing component in a new way.

Swedish-Danish initiative on network collaboration on cryomic microscopy
2018-01-23
A new Swedish-Danish research alliance wants to advance understanding of how biological molecules look and behave. With support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, scientists at four universities in Sweden and Denmark will join forces to create a Nordic network in cryoelectron microscopy, whose developers were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Hiding from a warmer climate in the forest
2018-01-11
Global warming threatens forest plants adapted to cooler temperatures. An international team of scientists from the universities of Stockholm, Marseille and Helsinki have unravelled where these species could survive within colder spots in the same forest. The findings can help to understand the effect of climate change on forest biodiversity and what we can do to protect it.

Stockholm University professor participate in Nordic University Hubs
2018-01-02
A total of up to NOK 180 million in funding has been awarded to six hubs proposed in response to the call for proposals for NordForsk's new funding instrument, Nordic University Hubs. Stockholm University will participate in one consortium through Professor Belén Martín-Matute from the Department of Organic Chemistry.

Early farming may have spread over Europe from Greece
2017-11-22
The Neolithization, when societies were restructured during the Stone age and people turned from hunting and gathering to farming, is probably the most important process in our history. For a century researchers were much guessing how the process happened, and only during the recent years have they been able to work out how the process occurred, with the help of DNA from ancient remains.

Seagrass is a key fishing ground globally
2017-11-17
New research demonstrates that seagrass meadows are important fishing grounds all around the globe. The work highlights that there is an urgent need to start appreciating and understanding this role to be able to build more sustainable fisheries. A new study examines the global extent to which these underwater meadows support fishing activity.

Generous people listen with their heart
2017-11-15
Some people like to share with others. Why is this so? New research shows that sometimes generosity goes hand in hand with “listening to your heart.”

Research on Arctic permafrost is funded within Horizon 2020
2017-11-24
How does climate change affect the Arctic coastal environment? And how can the challenges be met by people who live there? These are some of the issues that will be investigated in the project Nunataryuk, which is being funded within the EU Horizon 2020 program.

The stars that refuse to die
2017-11-13
In recent years, two new supernovas have been observed which don't act like supernovas usually do. New, more effective scanning telescopes are catching new behaviours.

Study confirms thiamine deficiency behind eider population decline
2017-11-06
Lethal deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1) is widespread among wildlife over large geographical areas in the Northern Hemisphere. Now, researchers from Stockholm University with colleagues from the Swedish National Veterinary Institute show that there is a direct link between thiamine deficiency and the population decline in the common eider in Sweden.

Male mammoths more often died in natural traps
2017-11-03
Most wolly mammoths found are male. These new findings suggests inexperienced male mammoths more often travelled alone and got themselves killed by falling into natural traps.

The Guanches originated from North Africa, shows DNA-study
2017-10-26
The aboriginal inhabitants of the Canary Islands, commonly known as the Guanches, originated from North Africa. A team of international researchers led by Stockholm University, and including Liverpool John Moores University’s Dr Linus Girdland-Flink, has now confirmed this long-held hypothesis. The result has been achieved by sequencing ancient DNA extracted from the University of Edinburgh’s collection of skulls from Guanches who lived on Gran Canaria and Tenerife prior to the European conquest in the 15th century AD.

The life of cells – live!
2017-10-05
Soon we will have a nearly complete picture of the cell’s molecular machinery. The issue now is understanding how protein molecules work together to create a microcosm that is stable and functions as well as it does. Thanks to a 20 million SEK (2.5 million USD) grant, Michael Oliveberg and his colleagues can search for the answer.

Quest for the unknown elementary particle
2017-10-05
One of particle physics’ biggest unsolved mysteries is how the Higgs particle can be so light, which is at odds with the prevailing theories. Thanks to a 35.2 million SEK (4.34 million USD) grant, Sara Strandberg and her colleagues can go on the hunt for new particles that could explain the mass of the Higgs boson.

Busy schedule for Honorary Doctor Thuram
2017-10-03
Lilian Thuram, French author and former football player spent a busy week in Stockholm in connection with receiving an Honorary Doctorate at Stockholm University.

Inauguration and Conferment 2017
2018-03-20
The Stockholm City Hall was fully packed at Stockholm University's conferment ceremony of new doctors and new professors. The Vice-Chancellor highlighted the importance of the University's independent research and its importance to the surrounding society.

Trend towards free access
2017-10-19
Financiers and researchers are demanding increased access to research data and publications, and this development has already come a long way.

Researchers' Days: Effects of toxic boat paint/Large molecules in space
2017-09-27
Recent PhDs Maria Bighiu, Environmental Science, and Michael Gatchell, Physics, will give a double open lecture. The first part concerns how toxic paints on boats harm the environment. The second part concerns how some of the largest molecules in space are formed and evolve. The lecture is given as part of Researchers' Days 2017. Moderated by author Gabriella Ahlström.

Climate Report presented in the UN
2017-09-19
It is possible to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but only if the world takes fast action. This is the conclusion in a new report written by 33 leading climate scientists and climate advisors. The report “Well Under 2 Degrees Celsius. Fast Action Policies to Protect People and the Planet from Extreme Climate Change” was presented on September 18 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, during the United Nation’s Climate Week.

Seven ERC-grants to Stockholm University
2017-08-28
Seven researchers at Stockholm University have been awarded the prestigious Starting Grant from the European Research Council. The funding ranges from 1.3 to almost 1.5 million euros each. Five of the scientists will continue their research at Stockholm University.

Kebnekaise’s south peak still highest in Sweden
2017-08-24
The annual measurement by researchers from Stockholm University shows that Kebnekaise’s south peak is still the highest peak in Sweden. Climate change, however, will make the north peak the country’s highest point within a few years.

Arctic subsea permafrost is thawing faster than thought
2017-06-27
The permafrost in the ocean bottom below the East Siberian Arctic Sea is thawing at a rate of 14 cm per year. That’s a lot faster than for permafrost on land and the process may eventually lead to increased global warming through increased release of methane according to a new study published by Nature Communications with Stockholm University scientists among the research team.

New insights into the toxin behind tetanus
2017-06-26
Tetanus toxin is the neurotoxin that causes lockjaw. Many are vaccinated, but tetanus still kills tens of thousands of people per year worldwide. Researchers from the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, led by Dr Pål Stenmark, have now uncovered the poison’s structure. For the first time, the way the poison is constructed has been revealed.

Memory for stimulus sequences distinguishes humans from other animals
2017-06-21
Humans possess many cognitive abilities not seen in other animals, such as a full-blown language capacity as well as reasoning and planning abilities. Despite these differences, it has been difficult to identify specific mental capacities that distinguish humans from other animals. Now reserachers have discovered that humans have a much better memory to recognize and remember sequential information.

Mapping the world sea floor
2017-06-19
By 2030, the entire sea floor will be charted. The Nippon Foundation intends to provide 18.5 million USD and Stockholm University is one of four research centres involved.

Microscopes and collaboration will make the University a world leader
2017-06-19
One of the world’s most advanced electron microscopes will soon be located at Stockholm University. The collaborative project CEM4MAT will be launched in connection with this investment in order to make better use of available microscopes in the region and become a world leader in electron microscopy.

Welcome to our Search Hub!
2017-09-28
The Search Hub, close to the information desk, offers you help with any questions you might have about searching information and registration for audio books and more.

Breaking the cycle of poverty
2017-05-04
Development aid must incorporate culture and nature better in efforts to push communities out of poverty, researchers argue in a recent study.

Fish cooperate for selfish reasons
2017-04-20
Why do animals help raise offspring that aren’t their own? A new study by an international team of researchers from Sweden, Canada and the UK shows that fish cooperate to raise another fish’s offspring to reduce their own risk of being eaten by a predator.

Honorary Doctorates 2017
2018-04-20
Stockholm University has chosen this year’s honorary doctors, all of whom have contributed in distinctive ways to the University's activities in research and education.

Barry creates smart environments
2017-03-31
How often do you look at your mobile phone and what do you use it for? These are questions that Barry Brown studies in order to created smarter technical solutions.

Mobile technology that puts people first
2017-03-31
Pleasure, enjoyment and happiness – these have been the watchwords of Mobile Life, whose operations will now continue at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences.

Research applied at home and on the catwalk
2017-03-31
The ability to “download” clothing from fashion shows directly to your computer or broadcast live via your mobile phone together with others – these are some of the results of Oskar Juhlin’s research at Mobile Life.

ERC Grant for research on social media in China
2017-03-24
David Strömberg, Professor in Economics at Stockholm University, has received an ERC Advanced Grant for a project on the effects of the explosive growth of social media in China.

ERC Grant for research on the planet’s resilience
2017-03-24
Johan Rockström, Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for his research project “Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene.”

ERC Grant to detect the existence of axions
2017-03-24
Frank Wilczek, professor at the Department of Physics at Stockholm University, has been awarded the ERC Advanced Grant for the theoretical study of axions. Axions are hypothetical particles whose existence would solve the dark matter problem.

Loop Spaces – a new way to solve old problems
2017-03-24
Kaj Börjeson will present his doctoral thesis in mathematics in 2017. Thanks to a grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, he will hold a postdoctoral position with Professor Nathalie Wahl, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Better epidemiology models thanks to grant
2017-03-24
Frank Ball, professor at the University of Nottingham, UK, will be a visiting professor at the Department of Mathematics, Stockholm University thanks to a grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Three ERC Advanced Grants to Stockholm University
2017-03-24
Frank Wilczek, professor at the Department of Physics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Johan Rockström, Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre and David Strömberg at the Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES). These three professors at Stockholm University will receive prestigious ERC Advanced Grants.

VR Grant for research on gravitational waves
2017-03-23
Ariel Goobar, Department of Physics, has been awarded the new Research Environment Grant from the Swedish Research Council. It’s a six year grant of around 2.4 million USD for a project on gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation.

Your sense of smell can predict risk of death
2017-03-22
A decreased sense of smell is correlated with an increased risk of death, a new psychology study from Stockholm University shows. The connection is independent from other health variables like age, gender and dementia.

Researchers at Stockholm University have high mobility and impact
2017-03-10
A report sponsored by the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education has found that researchers at Stockholm University are highly mobile – researching and publishing internationally and nationally to produce highly cited, impactful research.

Promising young neurolinguistic researcher wins prize
2017-03-08
Julia Uddén is one of two researchers to win this year’s L’Oréal-Unesco ‘For Women in Science’ Prize. Her research in language and psychology focuses on why some people are better at communicating than others.

Baltic Sea Future moves forward
2017-03-10
The congress Baltic Sea Future has gathered people from all over the Baltic region to share thoughts and ideas, experiences and solutions.

When counting isn’t enough – creating a more equal society
2017-02-24
The profile area Normativity, Law & Ethics analyses inequalities in society and the ethical considerations, laws and policies that work to perpetuate or alleviate them. Dr Eva Wittbom talks about her research on how the ideals of equality are translated into practice.

High levels of chemicals found in indoor cats
2017-02-24
A study from Stockholm University has now established what was previously suspected, that the high levels of brominated flame retardants measured in cats are from the dust in our homes.

Data Management in the Life Sciences
2017-03-06
Niclas Jareborg will talk about ongoing efforts by national and European infrastructures that aim to facilitate proper data management and Open Access movement for Life Science research data.

Professor at a record-young age
2017-02-11
Professor Ilona Riipinen at the Department Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), is the youngest person appointed to a professorship at Stockholm University in the 21st century.​

Why malaria mosquitoes like people with malaria
2017-02-09
Malaria mosquitoes prefer to feed – and feed more – on blood from people infected with malaria. Researchers from Stockholm University among others have discovered why. The findings can lead to new ways to fight malaria without using poisonous chemicals.

Stockholm University hosts international meeting on research collaboration
2017-01-31
Stockholm University will host the Stockholm Excellence Seminar with participants from Republic of Korea, Singapore, China, Indonesia and Brazil on 14 February. The seminar is the final activity in a two year project for research collaboration between researchers in Sweden and these five countries.

The paradox of migration – links, loss and belonging
2017-01-26
Migrants of all types employ different strategies - adapting to their new environment and adapting their environments to themselves. Profs Annika Rabo, Erik Olsson and Bengt Karlsson discuss education, welfare and policy making.

Major Viking Age manor discovered at Birka
2017-01-19
For centuries it has been speculated where the manor of the royal bailiff of Birka, Herigar, might have been located. New geophysical results provide evidence of its location at Korshamn, outside the town rampart of the Viking Age proto-town Birka in Sweden. The results will be published in the international scientific journal Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt.

Challenges in adding up the sources of methane
2017-01-18
The greenhouse gas methane has many natural sources, and understanding how large each of those sources are remains an unfinished task. This is important when trying to predict future methane emissions and global warming. A new study from researchers at Stockholm University shows how double-counting of methane sources, particularly wetlands and lakes, might be occurring in research. The study has been published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Contextualising art – physical artefacts and immaterial legacies
2017-01-17
Making meaning out of what we experience is central to being human, and the interpretation of works of art (both scholarly and not) can reveal surprising, multi-valent insights. Profs Peter Gillgren and Anders Andrén explore issues of Cultural Heritage, Historical Artefacts and Processes.

Expression, mutation and adaptation – genetics beyond DNA
2017-01-13
While understanding DNA and chromosomes is essential to genetics, how genes are actually expressed is just as important. Profs Neus Visa and Mattias Mannervik discuss their research into the protein complexes that regulate DNA and RNA and the future of epigenetics.

Understanding the climate one tree, bog and bird at a time
2017-01-04
The changing climate is one of our most pressing problems, and innovative approaches are crucial to our continued survival. Drs Britta Sannel, Ilona Riipinen, and Henrik Österblom all discuss the power of one organism to change our view of the world.

Thiamine deficiency in wildlife more widespread than previously thought
2017-01-02
Deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine) in wildlife was previously described as a problem among certain species within relatively limited geographical areas. Now, researchers at ACES, together with colleagues from several other research institutions in Europe and North America, show that thiamine deficiency is far more widespread than previously thought.

Today’s particle physics, tomorrow’s technology
2016-12-22
Astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics ask the “big questions” at both the subatomic and galactic levels. In videos, Drs Sara Strandberg and Jan Conrad describe their research questions, demonstrate their processes using models, and reveal how breakthroughs in physics have led to major technological revolutions.

Spectacular supernova was spinning black hole
2016-12-19
The supernova ASSASN15lh drew headlines earlier this year as the brightest supernova ever, but scientists have found it difficult to explain the fenomenon. In an article in Nature Astronomy researchers from Stockholm University, among other universities, are launching a theory that it is in fact a star that has ended up too close to a supermassive black hole and been torn apart by gravity.

Stockholm University Researchers in the Antarctic
2016-12-16
The research project MAGIC-DML aims to study the changes in the ice sheets covering Queen Maud Land in Antarctica. The goal is to create a detailed history of the ice cover, focusing on how its thickness and surface area has varied over time. The international collaboration includes researchers from Stockholm University.

Martin Högbom receives ERC Consolidator Grant
2016-12-16
Martin Högbom at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant. He and his team will study how proteins use metals to achieve complex chemical reactions. The aim of the research is to better understand the chemical reactions that among other things are important for the conversion to green industrial processes and green energy systems.

Study sheds new light into the link between thawing permafrost and climate change
2016-12-02
A new study by researchers at Stockholm University shows how large-scale thawing of Arctic permafrost released huge amounts of carbon at the end of the last Ice Age. Frozen carbon reservoirs in the Arctic are currently being released again, which threatens to accelerate climate warming. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications.

Learning makes animals intelligent
2016-11-30
The fact that animals can use tools, have self-control and certain expectations of life can be explained with the help of a new learning model for animal behaviour. Researchers at Stockholm University and Brooklyn College have combined knowledge from the fields of artificial intelligence, ethology and the psychology of learning to solve several problems concerning the behaviour and intelligence of animals.

The Nobel laureate who got hooked on Stockholm
2018-09-20
Childhood interest in mathematics and technology took Frank Wilczek all the way to a Nobel Prize. Now he will spend a large fraction of his time in Sweden where he is trying to crack the secret of dark matter.

Amid rapid change, major Arctic study highlights need to prepare for surprises
2016-11-25
The Arctic Resilience Report, published today, is the first comprehensive assessment of ecosystems and societies in the region. It identifies 19 “tipping points” in natural systems that could radically reshape the Arctic in the coming century, and calls for urgent cooperation to build local communities’ resilience and capacity to adapt to rapid and widespread change.

One hormone to rule them all
2016-11-02
Identifying stress hormones in insects can be a step towards environmentally friendly pesticides. Researchers from Stockholm University have discovered that one hormone coordinates the responses to stress in fruit flies. Their study is recently published in the Royal Society journal Open Biology.

Fashion research in focus at Stockholm University
2016-10-28
Luxury and sustainability in the clothing industry were two of the topics on the agenda when the Global Fashion Conference was organized at Stockholm University 20-21 October, where representatives from the academia and the industry met to discuss future challenges within the fashion industry worldwide.

Drought-tolerant species thrive despite returning rains in the Sahel
2016-10-19
Following the devastating droughts in the Sahel region south of the Sahara desert, vegetation has now recovered. What surprises the researchers is that although it is now raining more and has become greener, it is particularly the more drought resistant species that thrive. The conclusion is that not only rain but also agriculture and human utilization of trees, bushes and land affect the plants recovering.

New research vessel to help reduce Baltic Sea pollution
2016-10-18
Researchers are celebrating the inauguration of Stockholm University’s new research vessel Electra af Askö. Packed with high-tech equipment, it will give a more complete picture of pollution in the Baltic Sea.

Major projects funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
2016-10-06
Making plentiful-but-dangerous chemicals easier, better and safer to use. Making new tools to understand how the sun’s magnetic field heats its chromosphere. Solving the energy crisis with X-ray lasers. Developing a better way of measuring the climate. These are the projects at Stockholm University that have received funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Ancient DNA reveals the peopling of the Soutwest Pacific
2016-10-04
More than 3,000 years ago, a group of people set out from the Solomon Island chain in the southwestern edge of the Pacific Ocean and steered their outrigger canoes toward the horizon, with no land as far as their eyes could see. These people and their descendants were to be the first to cross more than 350 kilometer stretches of open ocean into a region known as Remote Oceania. Now, DNA sequences are for the first time telling us more about the ancestral origins of these people, and their genetic legacy that lives on in Pacific Islanders today.

Meeting place for environmental law
2016-10-04
When the Stockholm Environmental Law and Policy Centre was established in 2004, the aim was to create meeting places for researchers and professionals working with issues relating to environmental law. The Centre wanted to disseminate its research results and highlight the relevance of research on environmental law. Furthermore, it aimed to create a platform for inviting researchers from other universities.

Climate change is studied from a wide perspective
2016-10-03
What happens to water and soil conditions, ecology and biodiversity when the temperature rises? And how are species of plants and animals affected? Researchers at the interdisciplinary research programme Ekoklim at Stockholm University are looking for answers to these questions.

Alexey Amunts receives the 2016 Lennart Nilsson Award
2016-09-29
For his pioneering work in the current “resolution revolution,” Alexey Amunts has received this year’s Lennart Nilsson Award. He is a researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Stockholm University and head researcher at the Cryo-EM Laboratory at SciLifeLab.

ERC Starting Grant to Abraham Mendoza
2016-08-29
Abraham Mendoza at the Department of Organic Chemistry, Stockholm University, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant of up to 1.5 million euro over five years. His research project will seek ways to accelerate the transformation of simple materials into tailor-made complex molecules.

Uncovering the sources of the Himalayan glacier melt
2016-08-29
A Swedish-Chinese study has determined the source of the soot particulates which are causing the Himalaya-Tibet glaciers to melt, according to an article in Nature Communications. The researchers can not only determine the causes of the soot, e.g. wood burning or fossil fuels, but also its geographical origin.

Dark matter comes closer to the light
2016-09-02
Dark matter – what it is, what it does, what it’s made of – is one of the most fascinating and hotly contested subjects in astrophysics today. A team from the Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics at Stockholm University, headed by Manuel Meyer, has come one step closer to cracking the code. Working with the Fermi Telescope, they investigated whether a widely held assumption about dark matter might be 180 degrees wrong.

Pine oldest living known inhabitant in Europe
2016-08-19
A Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) growing in the highlands of northern Greece has been dendrocronologically dated to be more than 1075 years old. This makes it currently the oldest known living tree in Europe.

Thin tropical clouds cool the climate
2016-08-17
Thin clouds at about 5 km altitude are more ubiquitous in the tropics than previously thought and they have a cooling effect on climate. This is shown in a recent study by researchers from Stockholm University and the University of Miami published in Nature Communications.

Hunter-Gatherers Experimented with Farming in Turkey before Migrating to Europe
2016-08-04
Clusters of hunter-gatherers spent much of the late Stone Age working out the basics of farming in what is now Turkey before taking this knowledge to Europe. In an analysis of ancient genomes in Current Biology, researchers at Stockholm University and Uppsala University in Sweden and Middle East Technical University in Turkey report that at least two waves of early European settlers belonged to the same gene pool as farmers in Central Turkey.

New theory of the genetics of kin cooperation in microorganisms
2016-06-28
Microbes such as bacteria and fungi cooperate and help their relatives. Researchers can now answer questions about how they cooperate and what role genetics play. This new theory could be crucial to understand the development of new genetic variants of microbes.

Airplanes make clouds brighter
2016-06-23
Clouds may have a net warming or cooling effect on climate, depending on their thickness and altitude. Artificially formed clouds called contrails form due to aircraft effluent. In a cloudless sky, contrails are thought to have minimal effect on climate. But what happens when the sky is already cloudy?

Moving to Sweden as a researcher
2019-04-25
Recent arrivals from three continents and four different fields talk about collegiality and research environment at Stockholm University

Research seminar in Brazil
2016-06-03
The fifth seminar for the Swedish Academic Collaboration Forum, SACF, was held in Brazil in the middle of May. The project will conclude in February 2017 with a conference in Stockholm that will include the representatives from the five participating countries.

New light into our climate’s cloudier past
2016-05-26
In two new papers published in Nature, researchers from Stockholm University along with colleagues from Europe and the USA, imply that the baseline pristine pre-industrial climate may have been cloudier than presently thought. New results from the CLOUD experiment at CERN, Switzerland, shows that organic vapours emitted by trees produce abundant aerosol particles in the atmosphere in the absence of sulphuric acid.

Need for international convention on data surveillance
2016-05-24
The personal data of EU citizens is insufficiently protected by US law from being data mined within the context of American national intelligence programs. This is the conclusion of a dissertation from the Faculty of Law at Stockholm University.

Environmental toxins accumulate in wild animals in China
2016-05-11
Many animal species in southern China carry high levels of organohalogen contaminants. Most common is DDT, which has been banned for a long time in many parts of the world. New types of PCBs as well as polychlorinated carbon compounds and chloroparaffins were also found.

Swedish delegation to Brazil
2016-05-04
Brazil is the next stop for the Swedish Academic Collaboration Forum project which aims to promote research collaborations between researchers in the host country and six universities in Sweden. A delegation from Stockholm University of 13, led by Pro Vice-Chancellor Hans Adolfsson, will participate in the next seminar 16-20 May in Brasil.

Youngest Ph.D wants to understand the mathematics of non-experts
2018-04-09
Whether mathematics is real, or a story we agreed upon, has long been debated by philosophers. A new dissertation from Stockholm University shows that philosophers failed to include non-experts in the theories. Stefan Buijsman recently defended his thesis in philosophy of mathematics, as Sweden's youngest Ph.D ever.

Virtual spiders treat phobias
2016-04-14
Crawling spiders with hairy legs are scary to many people. Despite the fact that we do not have any dangerous spiders in Sweden, this is the most common animal phobia. When the phobia becomes so strong that it affects your daily life, it may be time to seek help.

Jenny White – new professor of Turkish Studies
2016-04-11
New professor at the Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS) at the Department of Asian, Middle Eastern and Turkish Studies is Jenny White, currently Professor of Antropology at Boston University. Jenny White was Distinguished Visiting Professor at SUITS during the academic year 2013–2014.

Grant for research on markets and economic development
2016-04-08
The foundation Ragnar Söderbergs Stiftelse funds three projects in economics with an amount of more than 6 million Swedish kronor each. Stockholm University has received one of those grants for the project “Market Integration and Economic Development”.

Large variations in precipitation over the past millennium
2016-04-06
According to a new study in Nature, the Northern Hemisphere has experienced considerably larger variations in precipitation during the past twelve centuries than in the twentieth century. Researchers from Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland have found that climate models overestimated the increase in wet and dry extremes as temperatures increased during the twentieth century. The new results will enable us to improve the accuracy of climate models and to better predict future precipitation changes.

Large grants to research projects on thawing permafrost and social economy
2016-04-05
Two researchers from Stockholm University have received grants from the European Research Council, ERC Advanced Grant, to fund their respective research projects. Örjan Gustafsson, professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, for his study of the effect of thawing permafrost on climate and Torsten Persson, professor at the Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES), for his study on how individual and social motives interact in driving individual decisions.

Indonesia seminar with workshops on land-use change and civil society
2016-04-01
Five researchers from Stockholm University participated in the Indonesia – Sweden Excellence Seminar held 14 – 17 March in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The seminar is a part of the project Swedish Academic Collaboration Forum shared by six Swedish universities and funded by STINT.

The legend of Erik the Saint may be true
2016-03-18
Erik the Holy may well have been killed in the way the legend says. Archaeologists at Stockholm University has contributed with important clues about the injuries found on the skeleton, and about diet habits and migration patterns of the individual whose remains have been examined.

Euraxess
2018-03-20
Stockholm University has an agreement with the European research network EURAXESS.

Stockholm University swabs the Tube
2018-03-28
Researchers at Stockholm University are mapping microorganisms in the Stockholm metro as part of a project called MetaSUB, which covers 47 cities around the world.

European clean air policies unmask Arctic warming by greenhouse gases
2016-03-14
The drastic cut in sulfate particle emissions in Europe partly explains the amplified Arctic warming since the 1980s, shows a new study published in Nature Geoscience. The team, which consists of scientists from Stockholm University and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, say that their surprising finding highlights an even more urgent need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate Arctic climate change.

Brave new digital world
2016-02-17
Digital images have become a central part of contemporary perceptions of reality, Lisa Ehlin shows in her doctoral thesis.

eGovlab develops online democracy
2016-02-16
eGovlab in Kista develops technology and smart processes for improving communication between citizens and public authorities. Starting at the beginning of next year, the EU project e-Skills Match will also be coordinated from here.

Research collaboration with Indonesia
2016-02-15
Researchers from Stockholm University, among other Swedish universities, will have the opportunity to discuss possible collaborations with colleagues in Indonesia at the next Swedish Academic Collaboration Forum in Yogyakarta.

Inventing new ways to produce proteins
2016-02-12
Hundreds of hours of work with instruments during Eric Johnston’s postdoc in New York gave birth to an idea of how proteins could be produced more efficiently. Now he is back at Stockholm University, has built up a new research branch in organic chemistry, and is hoping for his patent application to be approved soon.

Kilometre-thick ice covered the Arctic Ocean 140 000 years ago
2016-02-12
For the first time, researchers at Stockholm University, in collaboration with researchers in Gothenburg, United States and Russia, have been able to show that the Arctic Ocean was covered by a one kilometre thick layer of ice during glacial periods. The discovery provides, among other things, an insight into the stability of floating glacier ice of a type now mainly found around the Antarctic.

New Nordic Centre of Excellence focusing on Arctic mining communities
2016-01-22
A Nordic Centre of Excellence funded by NordForsk will build an interdisciplinary research environment to provide new thinking about sustainable development, especially in the context of Arctic mining. The new centre is led by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in collaboration with Stockholm University and Stockholm Environment Institute.

Children in joint physical care have better health than children living with one parent
2016-01-21
In Sweden one in ten school children live in joint physical custody, that is, they move between their parents. The trend suggests that it will be even more common in the future. How do kids who move between their parents actually feel? A recently completed research project shows that they are fine compared to children living alone with one parent.

Stalagmites from Greek caves provide new climate information
2016-01-15
In order to understand how future climate change could influence human society, we first need to look back in time to how past societies responded to climate change. A new dissertation from the Department of Physical Geography looks at stalagmites from caves where people lived over 5000 years ago to find new pieces of this puzzle.

We eat better than kings of old
2016-01-11
Cooking is becoming more and more complex. The food you consume on a daily basis is more advanced than what kings used to eat, according to new research from Stockholm University.

Large methane emissions from northern lakes
2016-01-07
Climate-sensitive regions in the north are home to most of the world’s lakes. New research shows that these northern freshwaters are critical emitters of methane.

The first European farmers are traced back to Anatolia
2016-01-11
When farming spread throughout Europe some 8000 years ago, Anatolia functioned as a hub, spreading genes and the new ideas westward. An international study coordinated from Stockholm and based on DNA from Anatolian remains indicates the importance of the role Anatolia played, and also in attracting attention both from the east and the west.

Who were the first Vikings?
2016-01-07
A new research project will find out more about the first Vikings. The project has received 50 million SEK in research grants from the Swedish Research Council.

Online response could prevent suicide
2015-12-28
Suicidal persons often share their thoughts and plans online. A new study pubished in The British Journal of Psychiatry shows that the response they get is important.

Swedish researchers reveal security hole
2015-12-18
Quantum cryptography is considered a fully secure encryption method, but researchers from Stockholm University and Linköping University have discovered that this is not always the case. The results of their research have been published in Science Advances.

Unique text discovered in language research programme
2015-12-15
Only a few researchers in the past hundred years have discovered new texts written by the church father Augustine. Last winter, Brian Møller Jensen became the latest one. He is involved in Ars edendi, a philological research programme at the Department of Romance Studies and Classics.

Major investment in brain research
2015-12-15
Stockholm University Brain Imaging Centre will provide equipment for research on brain imaging in humans and animals. The research will cover linguistic and behavioural fields and be a multidisciplinary meeting place.

Ocean toxicity hampered the rapid evolution of complex life
2015-12-04
By examining rocks at the bottom of ancient oceans, an international group of researchers have revealed that arsenic concentrations in the oceans have varied greatly over time. But also that in the very early oceans, arsenic co-varied with the rise of atmospheric oxygen and coincided with the coming and going of global glaciations.

New study raises the global human freshwater footprint
2015-12-04
Dams and irrigation raise the global human consumption of freshwater to a much higher level than previously thought, according to research from Stockholm University. The results are published in the scientific journal Science.

Ilona Riipinen: How are particles removed from the air and atmosphere?
2015-12-03
The amount of particles in the atmosphere is decisive for both our health and the Earth’s climate. Researchers have spent a great deal of time investigating what causes the emission of particles, but knowledge about how they leave the atmosphere is not as advanced. Ilona Riipinen, researcher at Stockholm University and new Wallenberg Academy Fellow, will now study how clouds and rain, for example, contribute to cleaner air.

Fataneh Farahani: What are the limits and terms for hospitality?
2015-12-03
The refugee crisis is one of the most significant civil rights issues of our time. Fataneh Farahani, researcher at Stockholm University and new Wallenberg Academy Fellow, will compare the work with asylum seekers and migrants, and investigate what shapes hospitality in three multicultural cities: London, Stockholm and Sydney.

Emil Bergholtz: Mathematics that may lead the way to quantum computers
2015-12-03
If researchers succeed in building quantum computers, today’s computers will appear as hopelessly old fashioned as typewriters do now. Wallenberg Academy Fellow Emil Bergholtz is developing mathematical theories that may guide the development of a particular form of quantum matter, which has special properties that researchers believe may be a platform for quantum computers.

New camera can measure methane
2015-12-01
A camera so advanced that it can photograph and film methane in the air around us is now presented by researchers Stockholm University and Linköping University. It can be an important part of the efforts to measure and monitor greenhouse gases. A study was recently published in Nature Climate Change.

In the future you will pay extra for an offline bed
2015-11-13
What happens in the near future if the technical development continues in the present way? This question has been investigated by the research project Consumer-facing Internet of Things at the Stockholm University Mobile Life Centre. The result is a report – and a design fiction Ikea catalogue.

New behavior of gases in metal-organic frameworks observed
2015-11-11
Metal-organic frameworks are materials useful for capturing and storing gas. An international team, led by scientists from Stockholm University and University of California, Berkeley, have been able to show how gases organize in the material, a completely new finding and important for further development. The result was recently published in the scientific journal Nature.

Toxins remain in your clothes
2015-10-23
Thousands of chemicals are used in clothes manufacturing. Researchers at Stockholm University have examined if there are chemicals in the clothes we buy as well.

New crystal captures carbon from humid gas
2015-10-16
A new material with micropores might be a way to fight climate change. Scientists have created crystals that capture carbon dioxide much more efficiently than previously known materials, even in the presence of water. The research was recently published in a report in the scientific journal Science.

Researchers want to find what is uniquely human
2015-10-14
Why did humanity turn out so different from other animals? What is uniquely human? These are some of the questions that an interdisciplinary research team from Stockholm University has been awarded a SEK 22 million grant to attempt to answer.

Quantum physics to ensure secure communication
2015-10-14
Mohamed Bourennane, researcher at Stockholm University, wants to develop a completely secure way to transfer information while learning more about the basics of quantum physics. In order to do this, the research team has now been awarded a grant of about SEK 34 million.

Nobel Prize puts focus on the Antarctic ice
2015-10-08
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2015 to Takaaki Kajita, Super-Kamiokande Collaboration, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan and Arthur B. McDonald, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Collaboration, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada for “for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.

Breakthrough in understanding sugar uptake
2015-09-30
Researchers from Stockholm University, in international collaboration with UK and Japan, has reached a breakthrough in understanding how fructose is transported into our cells. This could be a potential benefit for the development of novel treatments against some forms of cancer, obesity and diabetes. The results are published as an article in the scientific journal Nature.

Scientists on the way to Petermann glacier
2015-07-20
On July 27, Swedish polar scientists set off to Greenland to meet the icebreaker Oden in Thule. The mission this time is to examine the Petermann Glacier in north-western Greenland.

Global freshwater consumption crossing its planetary boundary
2015-07-06
Planetary boundaries have been proposed to describe a safe operating space of humanity. Human consumption of freshwater is the used control variable for a freshwater planetary boundary. Research from Stockholm University is now showing that global freshwater consumption has already pushed beyond its boundary. The article is published in Science.

Environmental award to research observatory NEO
2015-06-10
Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO), a research observatory at Stockholm University has been awarded the "Ecopolis Award 2015 for Environmental Projects" for its research on climate change in the Mediterranean region.

Elephant movement patterns mapped
2015-06-03
The elephant’s movement pattern has, for the first time, been studied with GPS tags in a previously unexplored area in western Tanzania. A thesis from Stockholm University shows that elephants move in the vicinity of the roads that park guard’s use, and avoid the areas where there is a greater risk of poaching.

Neurotoxin found in commercial seafood
2015-06-03
Popular commercial seafood purchased from Swedish supermarkets at the Stockholm region contains Beta-Methylamino-L-Alanine (BMAA), shows a doctoral thesis from Stockholm University. BMAA is a naturally-occurring amino acid with a possible link to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is the first screening study to measure BMAA in commercial seafood from metropolitan markets.

Greek research station NEO agreement renewed
2015-05-22
The Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO), a cooperation between Stockholm University, the Academy of Athens and TEMES S.A., dedicated to research and education on climate and environment of the Mediterranean region, recently renewed its agreement to enable continued research collaboration.

Prehistoric DNA reveals dog origin
2018-03-28
Man's best friend, the dog, may have been around far longer than we thought. A new study shows that the dog's predecessor was separated from the wolf already sometime between 27 000 and 40 000 years ago.

Exploding star shocks its neighbor
2015-05-21
To quickly discover exploding stars opens new windows to study their nature. An early glimpse of ultraviolet light revealed a shocked neighboring star.

High biodiversity gives healthy seagrass beds
2015-05-20
Loss of algal-feeding invertebrates have surprisingly large effects on health of valuable seagrass meadows. These are the new results from a unique set of coordinated experiments.

Viking dragon head found at Birka
2018-03-28
Archaeologists from Stockholm University and Germany made an unexpected discovery last week when they were digging in the port of the Viking town of Birka, on Björkö in Lake Mälaren.

Ecosystem management that ignores “taboo tradeoffs” is likely to fail
2015-05-19
A new approach to reveal “taboo” and “tragic” tradeoffs may protect marginalized people and improve conservation success. This is shown by a team of researchers from Kenya, the UK, Sweden and Canada in an article in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.

Stain- and waterproof clothing are harmful
2015-05-18
The Madrid Statement documents the scientific consensus on the potential for harm of highly fluorinated chemicals being used in stain- and waterproof clothing. Two hundred scientists from 38 countries, including several researchers from Department of Applied Environmental Science (ACES), Stockholm University have signed the Madrid Statement. In the document the scientists outline a roadmap to prevent further damage.

A big brain helps against predators
2015-05-15
Having a big brain may provide survival benefits, at least if you are a female guppy. A unique new study published in the journal Ecology Letters shows that guppy females with large brains are less likely to be eaten than females with smaller brains.

Joint physical custody less problematic than sole custody
2015-04-29
A new study on children’s living situation after a divorce has received international media attention. The study was recently profiled in the magazine Time. Joint custody seems to be less problematic than sole custody, the findings suggest.

Woolly mammoth genomes mapped
2018-03-28
Before the world's last woolly mammoth took its final breath, the iconic animals had already suffered from a considerable loss of genetic diversity. These findings were made in the first ever publication of the full DNA sequence of the extinct animal by an international team of scientists from Stockholm University, the Swedish Museum of Natural History and Harvard Medical School among others.

Northern lakes’ history can predict future methane emissions
2015-03-26
More and more methane gas is being released from northern lakes in Sweden. Now, a link has been found between methane bubbling and total summer sunshine. This new research result from Stockholm University enables improved predictions of future methane emissions.

New findings from DNA traces the emergence of languages
2015-03-13
Christos Economou, a PhD student at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University is one of the researchers who participated in the international research team that did the study.

Leading climate Professor: Sweden is a model
2015-02-17
Emissions of carbon must be reduced and in this, Sweden can be a model. This was the message when climate Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert held a public lecture in the presence of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

New findings on animal memory
2015-02-06
A new study shows that all animals have equally bad short term memory. The only species that stands out is man.

Climate Professor aiming for zero emissions
2015-02-03
Chance took Ray Pierrehumbert to Stockholm where he fell for the city - and Sweden. On the King's environmental professorship, he now works on to illuminate the complex systems that explain the earth's climate and to get decision makers to switch to a fossil free society.

Chemistry researcher awarded large scholarship
2015-01-29
The 2015 Alf de Ruvo scholarship worth SEK 500 000 has been awarded to Dr. Andreas Fall at the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University. Andreas Fall is given the scholarship for his comprehensive mapping of colloid chemistry interactions in nanocellulose systems. The research may contribute to the development of entirely new materials.

The Wellness Syndrome
2015-01-29
Are you obsessed with maximising your individual health and happiness? According to researchers a new phenomenon is emerging which they call the wellness syndrome - an obsession with health that is often counter-productive.

First major analysis of Human Protein Atlas is published in Science
2015-01-23
A research article published in Science on 23 January presents the first major analysis based on the Human Protein Atlas, including a detailed picture of the proteins that are linked to cancer. Professor Gunnar von Heijne at Stockholm University is one of the co-authors of the article.

Grant for recruiting Nobel Prize Laureate
2015-01-19
The Swedish Research Council has decided on grants for recruitments of international outstanding researchers, out of which the Department of Physics at Stockholm University has received a contribution to recruit Professor Frank Wilczek who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004.

Biodiversity threatened by twentieth century land-use change
2015-01-19
The magnitude of rural landscape change has been more dramatic than previously thought. A new large-scale study by researchers at Stockholm University shows that 96% of species-rich grassland has disappeared during the last 100 years, with serious consequences for plant biodiversity.

Four of nine planetary boundaries now crossed
2015-01-16
Four of nine planetary boundaries have now been crossed as a result of human activity, says an international team of 18 researchers with representatives from Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University in the journal Science, published 16 January. Crossing the boundaries could have serious consequences, both in the present and the future.

How to make China's aquaculture more sustainable
2015-01-09
Stockholm Resilience Centre researchers have written an article in the latest issue of Science on how China's aquaculture can tip the balance in world fish supplies and what can be done about it.

At absolute zero – studies of a different world
2014-12-22
Materials change their properties at extremely low temperatures; they stop following the traditional laws of physics and, instead, quantum mechanics takes over. As a Wallenberg Academy Fellow, Jonas Larson will use theoretical methods to study the different and exciting phenomena that occur close to absolute zero.

EMCDDA award 2014 goes to ALICE RAP paper
2015-01-16
The visiting research fellows Ludwig Kraus and Robin Room at Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (SoRAD), along with ten other European scientists working in the EC-funded ALICE RAP project were awarded a prestigious EMCDDA 2014 Scientific Paper Prize.

Major Viking Hall Identified in Sweden
2014-12-08
A Viking feasting hall measuring almost 50 metres in length has been identified near Vadstena in Sweden. Archaeologists from Stockholm University and Umeå University used ground-penetrating radar, a non-invasive geophysical method, to locate and map the house foundation.

Large grant to research on the sense of smell
2014-10-29
The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation has decided to award nearly SEK 300 million to research in the humanities and social sciences. A total of 67 projects, including three major research programmes, have been granted funding.

Large grant awarded for new method of protein structure determination
2014-10-24
Increased knowledge of how cells produce proteins, and the three-dimensional structure of these proteins, is of great importance to both basic research in biology and the development of medicine. Professor Gunnar von Heijne at Stockholm University has been granted a total sum of SEK 66 million for a new protein structure determination laboratory. In addition, he has been awarded a continuation grant for Wallenberg Advanced Bioinformatics Infrastructure (WABI) at SciLifeLab.

Hand blenders used for cooking can emit persistent chemicals
2014-10-28
Eight out of twelve tested models of hand blenders are leaking chlorinated paraffins when used according to the suppliers’ instructions. This is revealed in a report from Stockholm University where researchers analyzed a selection of hand blenders which are available on the Swedish market.

Two researchers comment the Nobel Prize in Literature 2014
2018-04-09
On October 10, it was announced that the French writer Patrick Modiano is awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Literature. Two researchers at Stockholm University comment on the election and talk about their research on Modiano.

Center for Toxicological Sciences, Swetox, inaugurated
2014-10-08
This Tuesday Swetox, Center for Toxicological Sciences, was inaugurated at Astra Zeneca's former premises in Södertälje. This collaboration between eleven Swedish universities will conduct innovative interdisciplinary basic research, applied research and other business services and even coordinate programs at the masters and doctoral level, including graduate school.

Both precipitation and temperature control land carbon cycling
2014-10-03
Precipitation is at least as important as temperature in determining the turnover time of carbon, states a new report published in Nature. The report also establishes that overall more carbon than what was previously thought is stored in land ecosystems – especially in soil.

Polar research expedition goes ashore
2014-10-06
The international research expedition SWERUS-C3 that has been in the Arctic Ocean is now coming ashore after about 100 days at sea. The exciting process to evaluate all data will now take over.
- The material will be able to provide new perspectives on the Arctic sea ice development history and gas hydrates stability along the Arctic continental shelves, says Martin Jakobsson, Professor at Stockholm University.

Linnaeus environments at the highest international level
2014-09-24
The Swedish Research Council and Formas have conducted a midterm evaluation of the 20 Linnaeus environments that were granted funding in 2008. Two research environments at Stockholm University received Linnaeus grants in 2008: the Linnaeus Centre on Social Policy and Family Dynamics in Europe – Stockholm University (SPaDE) and the Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics – Stockholm University (OKC). Both have now been evaluated and given excellent ratings.

Mothers with intellectual disabilities can have children with secure attachment
2014-09-23
In the first scientific study worldwide on attachment among children of mothers with mild intellectual disabilities (ID), researchers at Stockholm and Uppsala University report that a substantial proportion of these children harbor secure attachment representations and that only a small minority have disorganized attachment representations.

Watch the Polar researcher elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
2014-09-17
Professor Örjan Gustafsson has recently been elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. A few weeks ago he returned home from the first leg of the Polar research expedition Swerus-C3. On September 18 you can watch him live on the academic talkshow Crosstalks, talking about his research.

Kebnekaise south peak is melting at record speed
2014-08-28
Kebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden. Now there is only 70 centimeters difference between the South and North peaks. The South peak measured to 2097.5 meters above sea level at this year’s annual measurement of the peaks, performed at the end of each summer season by Stockholm University research station Tarfala.

Stockholm University recruits top researcher
2014-08-25
The Swedish Research Council has decided on a research grant to Stockholm University for Professor John Wettlaufer, to do research at Stockholm University and Nordita, the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Half time for the Polar expedition SWERUS-C3
2014-08-19
The first leg of the International Polar research expedition SWERUS-C3 is approaching its end. In the beginning of next week, the expedition is expected in Barrow, Alaska to change researchers and crew.

New international study into the link between human activities and cloud formation
2014-08-06
This summer the Cloud and Aerosol Experiment Åre (CAESAR) was launched which aims to better understand the influence of human activities on the composition of the air and microphysical properties of clouds. The project is a collaboration between Departement of Applied Environmental Science (ITM) at Stockholm University, the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland.

University researcher won competition in protein structure prediction
2014-07-18
A research group at SciLifeLab, led by Jens Carlsson at Stockholm University, has won a worldwide competition (GPCR DOCK 2013) to predict the three-dimensional structure of a G protein-coupled receptor using computer modeling. Their results are published in two articles in the scientific journal Structure.

SWERUS-C3 scientists begin methane measurements in outer Laptev Sea
2014-07-18
After nine days in transit, the Arctic expedition SWERUS-C3 has reached the first sampling station located in the Nansen Basin-Laptev Sea. The researchers focus on measuring methane emissions in the outer Laptev Sea. Areas where methane is “bubbling up” from the seabed will be studied in detail to understand how this system functions today.

SWERUS-C3 en route to the Arctic Ocean: the final hours before cast-off
2014-07-15
After four years of intensive preparations, SWERUS-C3, a polar expedition to the East Siberian Arctic Ocean and its adjacent continental slope, finally kicked off on 5 July from Tromsø, Norway. Under a beating sun spirits were running high and a surge of excitement was taking hold of researchers and crew on board the icebreaker Oden.

Top recruitment in Theoretical Physics
2014-07-07
Another top recruitment has been secured by Stockholm University with a grant from the Swedish Research Council's program for international recruitment of leading researchers.

Small crustaceans help us assess the effects of pollution and oxygen deficiency in the Baltic sea
2014-06-18
Two of the most pressing environmental problems in the Baltic Sea are pollution and oxygen deficiency. Despite this, our knowledge about how this affects the animals living in the sea is limited. To test the single and combined effects of polluted sediment and oxygen deficiency on benthic organisms small crustaceans (Monoporeia affinis) from the Baltic Sea were studied in experiments. These crustaceans were demonstrated to have a defence mechanism against the cellular damage that changes in water oxygen concentrations can induce. Exposure to polluted sediment was also shown to activate these defence mechanisms.

Population Modeling: a “new era” in environmental protection?
2014-06-03
Models that can project the effects of contaminants on populations of organisms may help fulfill goals set for environmental risk assessment, shows a new PhD thesis from Stockholm University. These findings could help improve the way we assess the hazards that contaminants may pose to the environment.

Genomic Diversity and Admixture differs for Stone-Age Scandinavian Foragers and Farmers
2014-04-30
An international team led by researchers at Uppsala University and Stockholm University reports a breakthrough on understanding the demographic history of Stone-Age humans. A genomic analysis of eleven Stone-Age human remains from Scandinavia revealed that expanding Stone-age farmers assimilated local hunter-gatherers and that the hunter-gatherers were historically in lower numbers than the farmers. The study is published, ahead of print, in the journal Science.

Honorary doctorates 2014
2014-04-15
Stockholm University has now chosen this year’s honorary doctors, all of whom have contributed in distinctive ways to the University's activities in research and education. Prominent names include Eleanor Sharpston, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the renowned French philosopher Francois Recanati. Within the humanities, in addition to Recanati, recipients of this year’s honorary doctorates include Elaine Aston and Patricia K. Kuhl; in the social sciences: Sandra Wallman and Marie-Laure Djelic; and in the natural sciences: Maria João Ramos, Lynne B. McCusker, Walter Neupert and Thomas Rossby.

Poor mimics can succeed as long as they mimic the right trait
2014-04-10
There are both perfect and imperfect mimics in nature. An imperfect mimic might have a different body shape, size or colour pattern arrangement compared to the species it mimics. Researchers have long been puzzled by the way poor mimicry can still be effective in fooling predators not to attack. In the journal Current Biology, researchers from Stockholm University now present a novel solution to the question of imperfect mimicry.

Deer droppings good for biodiversity
2014-04-08
By collecting deer droppings, and then growing the seeds found within, researchers from Stockholm University have been able to see how deer spread different types of plants.

Updated map of ocean floors
2014-04-03
A new version of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) is now available. This is the third version, and once again, researchers at the Department of Geological Sciences at Stockholm University have played a prominent role.

New concept for the treatment of cancer
2014-04-03
A team of researchers from five Swedish universities have identified a new way of treating cancer. The concept is presented in the journal Nature and is based on inhibiting a specific enzyme called MTH1, which cancer cells, unlike normal cells, require for survival. The research group at Stockholm University has determined the structure of MTH1 and made detailed structural studies important for the development of efficient inhibitors targeting MTH1.

Mats Nilsson appointed Site Director at SciLifeLab in Stockholm
2014-04-02
Mats Nilsson, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Stockholm University, has been appointed Site Director for SciLifeLab in Stockholm. The decision was made by the Vice-Chancellors of Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University. Mats commenced his duties at SciLifeLab from 1 April.

Large-scale investment in study of inaccessible marine areas
2014-04-03
A national infrastructure for studying hard conditions in the ocean is now being created with support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. University of Gothenburg, Chalmers and Stockholm University are behind the consortium MUST, Mobile Underwater System Tools, now assigned to SEK 38 million.

Wallenberg funding to mathematics researchers
2014-03-31
In order for Sweden to regain an international, cutting edge position in mathematics, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, is supporting prominent researchers in mathematics. Two researchers now receiving research funding are Per Alexandersson at Stockholm University and Christiane Tretter who is at present Professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland and soon to be visiting Professor at Stockholm University.

New centre for the ethics of war and peace
2014-03-26
Why do different ethical rules apply in war and peace? A new centre has been established at the University seeking to explore the reasons for these differences.

Johan Kuylenstierna Sweden’s top environmental influencer
2014-03-26
Two scientists at Stockholm University have been named as the top two environmental influencers in Sweden, according to the Swedish magazine Miljöaktuellt, "Environment News". The top influencer is Johan Kuylenstierna, Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute and Adjunct Professor at Stockholm University. The number two influenser is Johan Rockström, Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Professor of Environmental Science at Stockholm University.

Supernova explosion provides clues into expansion of cosmos
2014-03-21
Observations of the supernova SN2014J, which exploded on January 14, provide important clues into the nature of these explosions, as well as the accelerated expansion of the cosmos. The observations have been made by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) team and led by Ariel Goobar from the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University.

New study shows connection between olfactory impairment and later dementia
2014-02-27
A unique new study shows a connection between olfactory impairment and later dementia. Self-reported olfactory impairment and/or an inability to identify odors can be an early sign of dementia conversion within the next ten years. The study is the first of its kind to follow people from healthy ageing to dementia, focusing on olfactory impairment.

University receives 125 million SEK to recruit top researcher
2014-03-31
Stockholm University has received 125 million SEK from the Swedish Research Council as part of their programme to recruit distinguished researchers. The funding will be used to appoint Anders Nilsson, currently at Stanford University, to join Stockholm University, and will be spread out during a ten-year period.

Swedish researchers in physics breakthrough
2013-12-17
Swedish researchers from Stockholm University and Uppsala University have played a significant role in the IceCube research project, dubbed by Physics World as the “breakthrough of the year”. Scientists have made the first observation of cosmic neutrinos, thereby opening “a new window on the universe”.

Detailed cancer diagnostics with new analysis method
2013-12-03
New cancer treatments require good prior characterization of the tumour. Today, molecular diagnostics is time-consuming work, and important knowledge is still lacking when it comes to how drugs should best be used for individual patients. Scientists at the Science for Life Laboratory in Uppsala and Stockholm have now developed a new technique for discovering mutations in cancer tissues. The study is now published in Oncotarget.

Physics Nobel Laureates François Englert and Peter Higgs visit Albanova
2013-12-10
On December 7, this year’s Nobel Laureates in Physics, Prof. Peter Higgs and Prof. François Englert, visited AlbaNova for a reception and panel discussion. The panel discussion, which took place in the Oskar Klein auditorium at Alba Nova University Center. focused on the importance of the new boson and its discovery.

Methane bubbling from thawed subsea permafrost in Arctic Siberia
2013-12-02
In this week’s issue of Nature Geoscience, a Russian-US-Swedish study show extensive release of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from the East Siberian Arctic Seas, a shallow coastal ocean covering an area equivalent to four times the area of Sweden.

Cosmic flash highlights flaws in theories about our Universe
2013-11-22
An international team of researchers, including members from Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, has observed one of the most powerful cosmic explosions yet measured. The results are difficult to explain with any existing model, showing that we have a long way to go before understanding the most extreme events in our Universe. The findings are published in two articles in this week's edition of the journal Science.

Sweden-China environmental collaboration awarded SEK 24 million
2013-11-21
Professor Åke Bergman, of the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, has been awarded a Swedish Research Council framework grant of SEK 24,078,000 for a Sino-Swedish project on environmental monitoring and chemical analysis of environmental contaminants in the Yangtze River Delta region.

PFAA levels in Swedish otters on the rise
2013-11-14
Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids, or PFAAs, in the liver of otters from Sweden have steadily been increasing over the last 40 years despite the reduction in PFAA emissions, shows a new study published in the journalEnvironmental Science & Technology this week. The upward trend is of "great concern for the Scandinavian otter populations," write scientists from ITM and colleagues from the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

Large grant to Stockholm University for supernova research
2013-11-05
Stockholm University has received a large grant for supernova research. A research team led by Professor Jesper Sollerman from the Department of Astronomy has received SEK 33 million from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to study supernova explosions.

Archaeology that elicits stories from coin treasures
2013-11-05
Many people find old coins fascinating. To Nanouschka Myrberg Burström, they are also a window to our ancestors’ ways of socialising and thinking. The coins can reveal political and cultural processes, human traditions, or the fate of certain families.

Prehistoric population patterns subject of new research project
2013-10-28
Researchers from Stockholm University and Uppsala University are to undertake a six-year interdisciplinary research project investigating prehistoric population patterns using genetic data from 400 prehistoric individuals. Last week it was revealed that the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond has awarded SEK 35.4 million for the research programme, "Atlas of prehistoric human genome in Sweden ".

A new take on efficient delivery in regenerative medicine
2013-10-23
An international research group has successfully tested the use of a new type of porous material for the efficient delivery of key molecules to transplanted cells derived from stem cells. These results can lead to improvements in the way stem cell-based neurodegenerative diseases are treated.

The brightest explosions in the Universe
2013-10-21
A paper published in Nature today, led by scientists at Queen’s University, and with co-authors from the Oskar Klein centre at Stockholm University, sheds new light on the brightest supernovae yet discovered in the Universe. The article proposes that these enigmatic explosions could well be powered by neutron stars with gigantic magnetic fields that spin hundreds of times a second, rather than the previously held view of pair-instability catastrophes.

Physics Prize: Stockholm University researchers active at CERN
2013-10-08
François Englert and Peter W. Higgs are jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 for the theory of how particles acquire mass. Both took part in this summer's major physics conference at Stockholm University's Aula Magna. Several researchers at the University are also active in the work of the CERN laboratory which confirmed the existence of the Higgs particle.

The battle for Sweden's highest peak
2013-09-16
Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest peak, has now reached its lowest level since measurements began in 1902. This result was discovered during the traditional measurement of Kebnekaise, carried out at the end of each summer season at Tarfala, Stockholm University's research centre. The south peak was measured at 2,099 metres above sea level; just 2.7 metres now separates the south peak from the north peak, which measures 2,096.3 metres.

New app to live toxic free
2013-09-13
Researchers at ITM have developed an app to inform and guide consumers through the maze of hazardous chemicals in popular consumer products.

New insights into the Arctic permafrost carbon complexities
2013-08-29
Permafrost thawing and the release of carbon stored in it can generate greenhouse gases that, in turn, reinforce global warming. However, the extent of this reinforcing effect has been heatedly debated over the years. This week, in an article published as a Correspondence in Nature Geoscience, scientists from Stockholm University and Utrecht University highlight the need to broaden our perspective on the climate feedback potential of thawing Arctic permafrost. They particularly stress the role of the interplay between large-scale carbon- and water cycles in the Arctic permafrost carbon feedback.

Kebnekaise record low
2013-08-13
In early August this year the south peak of Kebnekaise was measured from the Tarfala valley. Results show that the south peak is at its lowest yet recorded height, in a series of measurements dating back to 1968, as well as a number of previous surveys beginning in 1947.

Researchers constrain the sources air pollution from China
2013-08-08
Particulate air pollution from incomplete combustion is affecting climate over East Asia more than carbon dioxide and cause premature deaths of over half a million annually in China alone, yet its sources have been poorly understood.

New method reads the genetic code directly in tumour tissue
2013-07-15
Accurate diagnostic tests are crucial when choosing the right treatment regime for cancer patients. This is why scientists from Stockholm University and Uppsala University continuously work on improving methods for analysing cancer tissues. For the first time, it is now possible to read the genetic code of individual cancer cells in their original location in the tissue. The results are published in Nature Methods.

Research communication needed for the Baltic Sea
2013-07-08
Increased information regarding what research says about the state of the Baltic Sea is crucial for politicians in order to take the decisions needed to save the Baltic Sea. That was the key message at a seminar organized by the Baltic Sea Centre at Stockholm University during Almedalsveckan.

Inefficient EU securities market facing a crossroads
2013-07-03
Compared with the US, the securities market in the EU is less economically efficient. This is because the regulatory system and the technical infrastructure for securities transactions differ between the two trade areas. Thomas Ordeberg has established this in a new doctoral dissertation from the Faculty of Law, Stockholm University. In the dissertation he also gives an account of what options the EU has available to make its securities market more efficient. Thomas Ordeberg is desk officer at the Ministry of Finance.

A Midsummer Day’s treat: Saharan dust over Stockholm
2013-06-28
On 21 June, while Sweden was swept away by the festivities of Midsummer Day, the optical remote sensing instrument known as LIDAR on the roof of the Arrhenius Laboratory heralded the arrival of strange visitors, the likes of whom scientist are not used to see roaming the skies of Stockholm: mineral dust from, none other than, the Sahara Desert.

Being well received in care speeds up healing process
2013-06-06
A placebo can activate a number of biological mechanisms in the same way that medicine can, which is why we are now beginning to understand why a placebo can heal and alleviate symptoms. Psychosocial factors, such as words or how a person is received, can help to heal or bring relief. These findings are being presented by the Italian researcher Fabrizio Benedetti, who is the keynote speaker at the PNIRS 20th Scientific Meeting in Stockholm on Thursday, June 6.

Carbon dioxide passes symbolic milestone
2013-06-05
Readings taken by Stockholm University scientists at the Zeppelin Observatory near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, revealed that global carbon dioxide (CO2) levels topped symbolically important milestone for five consecutive months since the beginning of 2013.

Unravelling the mystery of dead elk in southern Sweden
2013-05-31
Numerous dead elk (moose, in North America) keep cropping up in southern Sweden. Researchers at Stockholm University launched a new study into this worrying trend and hint towards thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency syndrome as a likely culprit.

Human cultural capacities are older than 170,000 years
2013-05-08
Researchers at Stockholm University have used methodology from evolutionary biology together with observations from genetics, paleoanthropology, archaeology and linguistics to determine that human capacities for culture must be more than 170,000 years old.

Rune stone rediscovered after 300 years
2013-04-26
A nearly 1,000 year-old rune stone has been rediscovered at Bogesunds brygga west of Vaxholm. The rune stone was found during an excursion which was part of a course in landscape archeology at Stockholm University.

Swedish study suggests reduced risk of dementia
2013-04-19
A new Swedish study published in the journal Neurology shows that the risk of developing dementia may have declined over the past 20 years, in direct contrast to what many previously assumed. The result is based on data from SNAC-K, an ongoing study on aging and health that started in 1987.

Scent of a woman - not that feminine
2013-04-18
In stores, most perfumes are categorized as either feminine or masculine, but a new dissertation from Stockholm University shows that many perfumes are perceived as "unisex", and that these are the scents preferred by most people.

New map of the sea floor around Antarctica
2013-04-11
A new digital bathymetric model and map of the sea surrounding the Antarctic continent has been completed within the project "The International bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO)". The map, bathymetric model and the underlying database is a result of a collaboration between 30 institutions from 15 different nations.

Dirty dishes show Ice Age hunters’ taste for fish
2013-04-11
Hunters and gatherers who lived during the Ice Age made pottery vessels for cooking fish, according to a new international study, published today in Nature. Researchers have analysed food residues found in pottery vessels, up to 15,000 years old. This has resulted in the hitherto oldest direct evidence of prehistoric vessel use.

Democratic Revolutions: Patience Pays
2013-03-20
Before the 20th century, the path to democracy was more than half a century long. Today, the process can be very rapid. However, democracies with lengthy transitions survive longer. This is shown in a scientific paper in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, where researchers at Stockholm University have analysed all the transitions between autocracy and democracy that have ever taken place.

X-ray laser reveals chemical reaction
2013-03-18
What happens when a chemical bond is broken? That question was recently answered with the help of a so-called free electron x-ray laser, which makes it possible to follow in real time how bonds in a molecule are changed and broken. The study, published in Science, found, among other things, evidence of a much-discussed intermediate state before molecules bind to or leave a metal surface. The possibility of monitoring at the molecular level how the electronic structure changes during a chemical reaction creates entirely new opportunities for investigating and understanding key chemical processes in detail.

Newfound signal may shed light on dark matter
2013-02-22
At the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University, researchers are working intensively to examine data from a signal with light particles from space that may provide answers to some of the mysteries of dark matter.

New research vessel in the Baltic Sea
2013-02-04
The Erling-Persson Family Foundation has given a grant of SEK 30 million to Stockholm University to build a new ice-going research vessel. The vessel will be stationed at Stockholm University’s marine field station, the Askö Laboratory, located in the archipelago of Trosa.

A warmer Greenland
2013-01-24
A new study provides surprising details on changes in the Earth’s climate during the Eemian interglacial period, more than 100,000 years ago.

Stress makes exhausted women over-sensitive to sounds
2013-01-14
Women suffering from stress-related exhaustion exhibit hypersensitivity to sounds when exposed to stress. In some cases, a sound level corresponding to a normal conversation can be perceived as painful. This according to a study from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University’s Stress Research Institute which tested sensitivity to sounds immediately after a few minutes’ artificially induced stress.

Accommodation for visiting researchers
2018-05-25
Stockholm University lets and manages a number of furnished rooms and flats owned by other landlords in Stockholm. These are available to foreign researchers with a doctoral degree and doctoral candidates at Stockholm University.

10 new honorary doctors for 2011
2011-10-24
Honorary degrees were awarded to 10 outstanding individuals on Friday 30 September 2011, during the inauguration and graduation ceremony that took place in the beautiful surroundings of Stockholm City Hall.